DANVERS — When the final horn sounded at overcast Cronin Field Saturday, the scoreboard looked as gloomy for the Masconomet football team as the skies overhead. St. John’s Prep 36, Chieftains 19 — not the result the defending Cape Ann League Large champs were looking for.
The Chieftains were certainly outplayed Saturday, and the powerful Division 1 Eagles (1-0) were a superior squad. But know this — the Chieftains (0-1) were not outclassed. Not by a long shot.
Masco didn’t lose this one because of the Prep’s incredible numbers, uncanny depth or storied football history. The game slipped away from the Chieftains because of two mistakes — costly turnovers that the unforgiving Eagles turned into 15 points.
The first capped a nightmarish start for the Chieftains. After taking two penalties on its opening drive, Masco watched junior quarterback Chris Splinter’s screen pass get tipped by the Prep’s junior end James Fahey, who gathered the interception and returned it for six.
After watching the Prep go ahead 14-0 on Brendon Felder’s first of three TDs later in the first, the Chieftains buoyed themselves. A precision strike by Splinter to Kevin Anderson from 37 yards out made it 14-7.
Next thing you know, the Eagles have gone three-and-out and Masco is marching downfield with a chance to tie it up.
That’s when disaster struck.
The Prep’s defense made the perfect call — bringing senior linebacker Andrew McHugh off the edge. The Swampscott native got to Splinter, causing a fumble that the Eagles recovered to really take the wind out of Masco’s sails.
“I asked George (Sessoms, the Prep middle linebacker) to call strong right so that I’d be the one blitzing,” McHugh said. “I hit him as hard as I could. That was a big turnaround for us.”
McHugh — a bruising fullback on offense — took a screen pass inside the 10-yard line two plays later. The electrifying Felder — who shaked and baked his way to over 100 total yards — scored just before halftime and tossed a two-point conversion pass for good measure to make it 22-7.
“I liked the way we came to play, but we made too many mistakes. We have a long way to go to get a lot better,” said Masco coach Jim Pugh.
The Chieftains could’ve been buried after halftime, but they rallied and stuffed the Prep on its first drive, despite the Eagles starting in the red zone after an 80-yard kick return by Tyler Coppola.
Masco’s offense marched 77 yards only to come up empty handed after being severely hampered by a false start on fourth and goal from the Eagles’ 5-yard line. They turned it over and another opportunity was lost.
The Eagles were no longer interested in letting the Chieftains hang around. Felder punched it in again — this time on a pass reception — and the game was effectively over early in the fourth.
“We hung our heads a little bit at the end, and we certainly didn’t play the way we should for 44 minutes,” he said.
They hung not because they were being pushed around, but because they were frustrated by an opportunity lost. The Chieftains seemed to be wondering what might have been if not for those two turnovers.
The Eagles kept it simple, spreading the ball around to McHugh, Sessoms, Coppola and Felder. Coach Jim O’Leary almost certainly has more up his sleeve offensively, and showed glimpses of a set with Felder playing QB. The Prep’s defense pounced when it had to. The key turnovers were as much forced as they were miscues.
Masco fearlessly scheduled one of the state’s powerhouse programs because they wanted to measure themselves. The Chieftains are further along then they think, needing only to eliminate some costly mental mistakes. Evan Bunker played as tough as anyone on the field, Splinter is a game-breaker and Kevin Anderson (nine, 132 yards) adds a new wrinkle to the passing game.
The Chieftains can get a lot better. But they’re not as far away as the final score indicates. Before long, they’ll be there.
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